Internal consistency and reliability of the lifetime and modified current cognitive activity questionnaires and their association with cognitive performance: a six-year follow up of the Brain in Motion study

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Cognitive activity questionnaires could provide insight into neurocognitive reserve. The Lifetime Cognitive Activities Questionnaire (LCAQ) assesses cognitive activities at four stages of life. The Modified Current Cognitive Activities Questionnaire (CCAQ) assesses current cognitive activities. We examined the construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and stability of these questionnaires throughout the Brain in Motion (BIM) study and their relationship with cognitive performance.

Methods

The LCAQ, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and neuropsychological battery were administered at the initial pre-intervention and six-year follow-up. The CCAQ was administered at five timepoints. Construct validity of the CCAQ/LCAQ was assessed using proxies of cognitive engagement (educational attainment and the North American Adult Reading Test [NAART]). Cronbach alpha analysis determined internal consistency. LCAQ reliability was established by comparing the pre-intervention and six-year follow-up. CCAQ reliability was determined by comparing both pre-intervention assessments, correlations throughout BIM determined stability. A multiple linear regression investigated the associations between cognitive engagement and cognitive domains derived from a principal component analysis.

Results

MoCA scores at the initial pre-intervention (27.49 ± 1.46) and six-year follow up (26.53 ± 2.08). The LCAQ and CCAQ correlated with educational attainment and the NAART. The LCAQ (n = 266) produced an alpha of 0.90 (20 items). The CCAQ (n = 261) resulted in an alpha of 0.71 (25 items). LCAQ scores (n = 94) at the initial pre-intervention and six-year follow-up were correlated. CCAQ (n = 94) scores at the initial pre-intervention correlated with scores at all five other timepoints. The multiple linear regression revealed associations between the CCAQ and verbal memory/attention. The NAART was associated with processing speed, concept formation, and verbal memory/attention.

Conclusions

In the absence of cognitive decline, these questionnaires exhibit significant construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and the CCAQ displayed stability. The NAART and CCAQ were associated with neuropsychological performance. Our findings support future use of these questionnaires and exemplify the neuroprotective role of cognitive engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychometrics
• Cognitive Activity Measures
• Neurocognitive Reserve
• Healthy Aging
• Questionnaires

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2023.2272979.

Acknowlegements

We want to thank all members of the Brain in Motion team and all study participants.

Additional information

Funding

CS was supported by a Mitacs Research Training Award and by a NSERC BRAIN CREATE Trainee Scholarship; VG was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) postdoctoral fellowship, a NSERC BRAIN CREATE Trainee Scholarship and by the Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging. GAE was supported by a Heart and Stroke Foundation Visiting Scholar Award. MJP is the lead of the Brain In Motion study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR, MOP142470) and he holds the Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Alzheimer Research (BSFCAR).